Identity and Intercultural Communication

Religious Identity

A sense of belonging to a religious group. It can sometimes be conflated with another identity (Jewish: racial, ethnic or religious identity).

Model Minority

A stereotype that characterizes all Asians and Asian Americans as hardworking and serious and so a "good minority." Inherently justifies stereotypes of Blacks and Latinos.

Identity Negotiation Theory

A theory that emphasizes at the core of intercultural communication is the process of communicating one's own desired identities while reinforcing or resisting others' identities.

Impression Management Theory

The ways individuals attempt to control the impressions people have of them.

Multicultural People

*"On the border" of two or more cultures. *Biracial identity: (1) awareness of differentness and resulting dissonance, (2) struggle for acceptance and (3) self-acceptance and assurance.

Class Identity

*A sense of belonging to a group that shares similar economic, occupational, or social status. *The magazines we read, the foods we eat, education and the words we use often reflect our social class position. *Passing identity: representing yourself as belonging to a group you really don't belong to.

Ethnic Identity

*A set of ideas about ones's own ethnic group membership. *A sense of belonging to a particular group and knowing something about the shared experience of the group.

Spiritual Identity

*Connectedness to others and higher meanings in life. *India: gods and goddesses, and rituals. *Japan: aesthetic modes, the tea ceremony and flower arranging. *In India, Japan, some Latino and Asian American groups, integration of the familial and spiritual self is emphasized over the individual.

The Social Science Perspective

*Identity in part created by self in relation to group membership. *Emphasizes individualized, familial and spiritual self (cross-cultural perspective).

Resisting Ascribed Identities

*Interpellation/Hailing: the communication process by which one is pulled into the social forces that place people into a specific identity. *Tom: "Japanese," but is not a citizen nor has ever lived in Japan.

The Critical Perspective

*It considers the same things as the interpretative perspective, but emphasizes the contextual and often conflictual elements of identity development. *Understanding identity formation in the contexts of history, economics, politics and discourse.

Sexual Identity

*One's identification with various categories of sexuality. *Views of sexual identities vary depending on context. *Transgender: identification with a gender that does not match one's biological gender. *The U.S. census only gives two gender choices: male and female.

Global nomads (third-culture kids)

*People who grow up in various cultural contexts because their parents relocated. *These children have multiple unique challenges and opportunities: family separation, constraining cultural rules, extensive travel, strong intercultural competency.

Ethnic vs Racial Identity

*Scholars argue that ethnic identity is constructed by selves and others while racial identity is constructed solely by others. *If we never talk about race, but only about ethnicity, can we consider the effects and influences of racism?

Age Identity

*The identification with the cultural conventions of how we should act, look and behave according to our age. *Social constructions of age play a role because different generations often have different philosophies, values, and ways of speaking.

Gender Identity

*The identification with the cultural notions of masculinity and femininity and what it means to be a man or a woman. *Our expression of gender not only communicates who we think we are but also constructs a sense of who we want to be. *Femininity in the U.S.: appearance counts, be sensitive and caring, be a superwoman; accept negative treatment. *Masculinity in the U.S.: don't be female, be successful; be aggressive; be sexual; be self-reliant.

Familial Identity

-The sense of self as always connected to family and others (African and Asian societies). -In these societies, educational, occupational and even martial choices are made by individuals with extensive family guidance.

Individualized Identity

-The sense of self as independent and self-reliant; I (USA). -Sharp distinction between self and others.

Avowal and Ascription

-Avowal is the process by which individuals portray themselves, and ascription is the process by which others attribute identities to them. Sometimes the processes are congruent. -Different identities are emphasized depending on the individuals with whom we communicate and the topics of conversation (sexual orientation and attraction).

Ethnorelative Perspective.

1) People deny or ignore cultural differences. 2) People attach negative meaning to differences. 3) People try to minimize the differences. 4) People accept the notion of cultural differences. 5) People change their behaviors to adapt to others.

Minority Identity Development

1) Unexamined Identity: lack of exploration of identity. 2) Conformity: the internalization of the values and norms of the dominant group and a desire to assimilate into the dominant culture. 3) Resistance and Separatism: growing awareness that not all dominant values are beneficial to minorities; blanket endorsement of one's group's values and attitudes, with a rejection of the dominant group's values. 4) Integration: strong sense of their own group identity and an appreciation for other cultural groups.

Majority Identity Development

1) Unexamined Identity: lack of exploration of identity; lack of interest in issues of minority groups; acceptance of majority group values. 2) Acceptance: individuals are not aware that they have been programmed to accept this worldview. 3) Resistance: begin to question dominant identity and privilege. 4) Redefinition: people begin to refocus or redirect their energy toward redefining their identity in a way that recognizes their privilege and works to eliminate oppression and inequalities. 5) Integration: strong sense of their own group identity and an appreciation for other cultural groups.

Cognitive Functioning of Stereotypes

1) Utilitarian function: they can lead to rewards. 2) Ego-defensive function: people don't want to believe unpleasant things about themselves. 3) Value-expressive function: they serve to reinforce aspects of life that are highly valued. 4) Knowledge function: such attitudes allow them to organize and structure their world in a way that makes sense to them.

Prejudice

An attitude, usually negative toward a cultural group based on little or no evidence.

Regional Identity

Identification with a specific geographic region of nation.

Racial Identities

Identifying with a particular racial group. Although in the past racial groups were characterized by biological characteristics, most scientists now recognize that race is constructed in fluid social and historical contexts.

The Interpretive Perspective

Identities are negotiated, reinforced, co-created and challenged through communication with others; they emerge when messages are exchanged.

Cultural Brokers

Individuals who act as bridges between cultures, facilitating cross-cultural interaction and conflict. For example, third-culture kids often develop resilience, tolerance, and worldliness, characteristics essential for successful living in an increasingly globalized world.

National Identity

National citizenship

Spin Control/Damage Control

Some scholars suggest that individuals are constantly performing "spin control" campaigns to highlight their strengths and virtues while also attempting "damage control" by minimizing their deficiencies.

Identity

The concept of who we are. Characteristics of identity may be understood differently depending on the perspectives that people take.

Core Symbols

The fundamental beliefs that are shared by members of a cultural group. Labels, a category, are names or markers used to classify individual, social or cultural groups.

Hyphenated Americans

U.S. Americans who identify not only with being U.S. citizen but also as a being members of ethnic groups (Jamaican American, Japanese American, German American, Venezuelan American, Nigerian American).

Bounded vs Dominant Identities

What it means to belong to the dominant, or normative, culture is more elusive. Normative means "setting the norm for a society."

Personal Identity

Who we think we are and who others think we are. These identities are important to us and we try to communicate them to others.

Stereotypes

Widely held beliefs about a group of people, perpetuated by the media.